Sunak’s Reluctance to Attend COP27 Adds to UK PM’s Array of Problems

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure after No 10’s announcement that “other pressing commitments” would prevent him from attending the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt, scheduled for next month.

While Labor leader Keir Starmer tweeted that “Britain showing up to work with world leaders is an opportunity to grasp” rather than “an event to shun,” Shadow Climate Change secretary Ed Miliband dubbed Sunak’s decision “a massive failure of climate leadership.”

“We were the COP26 hosts and now the UK Prime Minister isn’t even bothering to turn up to COP27. “What Rishi Sunak obviously fails to understand is that tackling the climate crisis isn’t just about our reputation and standing abroad, but the opportunities for lower bills, jobs, and energy security it can deliver at home,” Miliband emphasized.

The same tone was struck by Liberal Democrats leader Edward Davey, who claimed that the British prime minister’s move “flies in the face of the UK's proud tradition of leading the world in our response to the climate change."

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Green MP Caroline Lucas insisted that “the new PM’s decision not to attend COP27 makes a mockery of any government claims on continued climate leadership – and what a shameful way to end the UK’s COP presidency.”

She was echoed by Rebecca Newsom, the head of politics at Greenpeace UK, who argued that Sunak’s move means that the British PM does not take climate change “seriously enough.”

“The UK Government is supposed to hand over the COP presidency to their Egyptian counterparts at next month’s summit. For Rishi Sunak not to show up is like a runner failing to turn up with the baton at a crucial stage of the relay,” Newsom said.

Many netizens also lashed out at Sunak, with one user tweeting that this “together with his decision to appoint leaky Sue Braverman already shows he’s not up to the job.” Another netizen stressed: “That's his second major mistake in a week. He's not started well […]”.

One more user slammed the move as “utterly despicable and unprofessional” as well as “proof he just couldn’t give a toss.”

This followed Sunak being slammed over his decision to reappoint Suella Braverman as home secretary just six days after she was compelled to resign over the security breach, with Starmer dubbing the move a sign of the British PM’s weakness and accusing Sunak of making a "grubby deal."

Apart from flak over Braverman's reappointment, the PM has also been criticized for scrapping the growth plan of his predecessor Liz Truss and delaying the autumn budget almost three weeks so that the new UK government can “reach the right decisions.”

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney claimed that “this delay risks leaving mortgage borrowers, pensioners and struggling families under a damaging cloud of uncertainty.”

She added that the PM “must confirm now that benefits and pensions will be up-rated in line with inflation, and there will be no cuts to our NHS [National Health Service] and other crucial public services.”

On Tuesday, Sunak was appointed UK prime minister after meeting King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. The 42-year-old became Britain's third prime minister in two months, which saw Liz Truss officially replacing Boris Johnson on September 5th after BoJo resigned over a spate of scandals, including a row related to COVID rules-busting parties in Downing Street in 2020 and 2021.

Last week, Truss announced her resignation after just six weeks in office, stating she recognizes that “given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative party”.

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This was followed by Starmer calling for an immediate general election, insisting that the Conservative Party had showed that “it no longer has a mandate to govern.”

“The Tories cannot respond to their latest shambles by yet again simply clicking their fingers and shuffling the people at the top without the consent of the British people. They do not have a mandate to put the country through yet another experiment; Britain is not their personal fiefdom to run how they wish,” Starmer underscored.

The remarks were preceded by an opinion poll revealing last Wednesday that Labor had further extended its lead over the Conservative Party to 29 points – a trend that has been in place over the past several weeks.